New taxis hit Dhaka streets in mid-April

Army, pvt firm to import 500 cabs in 3 months

After a long wait, Dhaka is to get new taxi cab service from the Bangla New Year on April 14.
The service will primarily begin in Dhaka with 60 cabs. Bangladesh Army and private firm Toma Paribahan will each import 30 latest model petrol-run air-conditioned Japanese cars, said officials of the communications ministry.
They said the army and Toma Paribahan in the next two to three months will import 500 -- each 250 -- AC cabs. Non-AC taxis would be added to the service later, the officials added.
The government involved Bangladesh army in launching the taxicab service for Dhaka and Chittagong metropolises following a proposal from the army chief last year.
A senior officer of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority said that in phases, a total of 5,000 taxis would be imported for the capital and 300 more for the port city.
Despite several attempts in the last few years, the government could not bring in new taxicabs due to strict policy and different bureaucratic tangles.
"We are going to inaugurate the service on Pahela Baishakh, the first day in Bangla calendar," said Communications Minister Obaidul Quader.
Sources in the ministry said the army would provide security for the taxi service using GPS and other electronic devices like video camera. For this, permission to charge passengers extra has been sought.
As per the 2010 government-fixed charges, a passenger who avails an AC cab has to pay Tk 60 for the first two kilometres and Tk 15 for each kilometre afterwards. For non-AC taxis the first two kilometres cost Tk 50 and Tk 12 for each kilometre afterwards.
The communications minister said they would fix the new fare after discussing with the stakeholders at the ministry ahead of the service launching.
On army's request for additional fare, he said he hoped people would pay the extra charge for their security.